Killer 'legal high' party drugs to be banned at last

 

 

By Jenny Hope

Last updated at 10:52 AM on 25th August 2009

 

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Party drugs - including the one which killed medical student Hester Stewart - will be banned by the end of the year.

 

It follows a campaign by Miss Stewart's mother Maryon and warnings from doctors and coroners about the dangers of so-called 'legal highs'.

 

Miss Stewart, 21, an outstanding student who dreamed of becoming a surgeon, died in April after taking the drug GBL.

 

 

Tragic: Legal high GBL killed medical student Hester Stewart

 

 

Home Secretary Alan Johnson said GBL, or gamma-butyrolactone, will be illegal for personal use as a Class C drug, meaning users could be jailed for two years and dealers imprisoned for up to 14 years.

 

Soon to be banned: GBL will be illegal for personal use as a class C drug

 

But the delay in bringing in the ban and the drug's low level of classification was condemned by Mrs Stewart, who said a new generation of fresher students would be put at risk this autumn.

 

GBL, which is used legitimately as an industrial solvent, was banned for personal use in the U.S. and Canada five years ago.

When mixed with alcohol, GBL is more dangerous than Ecstasy - a class A drug - yet it is available on the internet for only 50p a dose, Mrs Stewart said.

 

Doctors said in 2005 that GBL was 'vastly more dangerous than Ecstasy'. Between three and 20 people are believed to have died from it.

 

Mrs Stewart, 55, a nutritionist and author, said: 'GBL is every bit as dangerous as heroin and Ecstasy, if not more so.

 

'Because it's lethal when combined with alcohol, it should be a Class A drug.

 

'Our kids are incredibly vulnerable. Because it's legal they assume they're safe. But a European committee last year ruled that GBL plus alcohol equals death and young people in France and Germany are given official advice about the hazards.'

 

She began campaigning for a ban within two weeks of the death of her daughter, who was top of her year at Sussex University, and met Mr Johnson in June.

 

Speaking of the delay in the ban, she said: 'It's really disappointing because there will be other deaths and other families that have to deal with tragedies.'

 

GBL will be classified along with two other 'legal highs', cannabis substitute Spice and BZP (benzylpiperazine) which was a worming treatment for cattle.

 

GBL is similar to the notorious daterape drug GHB, which is known as liquid Ecstasy and was banned in 2003. GBL converts in the liver to GHB, which suppresses breathing. There is no antidote for anyone suffering its effects.

 

A campaign targeting students and clubbers warning of the dangers of legal highs will be launched to coincide with the start of the university term.

 

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1208830/Killer-party-drugs-banned-last.html#ixzz0PC5aGc9h

Yes because making it illegal will stop use of it.:rolleyes:

 

And won't waste a ton of money doing nothing.....

This is regression, not progression.

Home Secretary Alan Johnson said GBL, or gamma-butyrolactone, will be illegal for personal use as a Class C drug, meaning users could be jailed for two years and dealers imprisoned for up to 14 years.

 

Oh, if only she had been jailed two years!

 

Then she would have gone on to become a successful surgeon! :laugh3:

What are the outcomes of this banning:

 

1 - It will cause more people to be rebels and try them out, cos man they want to break the law

2 - The makers will make slight changes to the stuff inside the drugs before releasing them onto the market legally

3 - The police have another law to try and crack down on.

 

So all in all a waste of time.

And dave will do a double post.

What are the outcomes of this banning:

 

1 - It will cause more people to be rebels and try them out, cos man they want to break the law

2 - The makers will make slight changes to the stuff inside the drugs before releasing them onto the market legally

3 - The police have another law to try and crack down on.

 

So all in all a waste of time.

 

With strong emphasis on the word "waste".:P

I hate drugs. You know what I mean.

There are party towns everywhere you know, it's kind of disturbing.

I lived in a party town and loved it.

I lived in a party town and loved it.

 

Well not everybody can be as cool as you, Nick!

 

*runs away sobbing*